Screening for Ames mutagenicity of food flavor chemicals by (quantitative) structure-activity relationship

Masamitsu Honma,Kei-Ichi Sugiyama,Airi Kitazawa,Toshio Kasamatsu

doi:10.1186/s41021-020-00171-1

Masamitsu Honma, Kei-Ichi Sugiyama + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s41021-020-00171-1

Copy DOI

Journal: Genes and Environment	Publication Date: Nov 30, 2020
Citations: 6	License type: open-access

Affiliation: National Institute of Health Sciences

Abstract

Background(Quantitative) Structure-Activity Relationship ((Q)SAR) is a promising approach to predict the potential adverse effects of chemicals based on their structure without performing toxicological studies. We evaluate the mutagenicity of food flavor chemicals by (Q) SAR tools, identify potentially mutagenic chemicals, and verify their mutagenicity by actual Ames test.ResultsThe Ames mutagenicity of 3942 food flavor chemicals was predicted using two (Q)SAR) tools, DEREK Nexus and CASE Ultra. Three thousand five hundred seventy-five chemicals (91%) were judged to be negative in both (Q) SAR tools, and 75 chemicals (2%) were predicted to be positive in both (Q) SAR tools. When the Ames test was conducted on ten of these positive chemicals, nine showed positive results.ConclusionThe (Q) SAR method can be used for screening the mutagenicity of food flavors.

Highlights

The term “food flavor” refers to a natural or synthesized chemical substance existing as an aromatic component of food
We evaluate the mutagenicity of 3942 food flavor chemicals used all over the world by two (Q) SAR tools according to ICHM7 guideline, identify potentially mutagenic chemicals, and verify their mutagenicity by actual Ames test
Seventy-five chemicals were predicted as positive by both (Q) SAR tools (2%) and were considered highly probably mutagenic, and 3575 chemicals (91%) were judged negative in both (Q) SAR tools (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

The term “food flavor” refers to a natural or synthesized chemical substance existing as an aromatic component of food. They are relatively low molecular weight chemical substances mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur, and often have specific functional groups. In Japan, most food flavors are classified into 18 types according to their chemical structure, and currently, about 3230 individual food flavors are registered [1]. About 2300 flavors and 2500 flavors are used in the United States and Europe, respectively, and approximately 1800 flavors are common to all three regions [2]. A reason behind the disparity between regions is the difference in safety assessment.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion